Python vs. Perl, which is better to learn?

[Isaac To]

>>>>> "Alex" == Alex Martelli <aleax at aleax.it> writes:

    Alex> For example, class and struct are two keywords which are exact
    Alex> synonyms except for a different default visibility until the first
    Alex> private/protected/public keyword in the class body -- this should
    Alex> make it obvious that there is redundancy here.

Then two comment styles (or actually, 3) is redundent?  How much more
difficult to learn one more alias?  Just like multiple comment style, they
serve to communicate programmers' intent: to differentiate those types that
are encapsulated and those that aren't.

    Alex> since existing programs were using it by the time he convinced
    Alex> himself the language would be better off without it.

If a feature is "just for existing programs", new programmers usually are
free not to learn it.  I see many who never learnt about C-style casts,
function pointers, etc.

    Alex> My own feeling is that C++ is probably as good as it could be made
    Alex> considering the many constraints on it -- pity that those
    Alex> constraints never included "and simple enough for human beings to
    Alex> use well"

It's not currently?  I beg to differ.  I see the only real thing currently
causing trouble is the lack of of good standard library.  Not just to deal
with containers (currently we still lack a hash-table based container in the
standard) and I/O, but also those for performing GUI, networking operations,
database interface, memory handling, component architecture, process and
thread management, virtual filesystem, XML parsing, encryption and
decryption, and so on.  All of them exists, none of them is standardized.
Hopefully the next C++ version will clear this up.  It has been a language
more than 10 years old, it deserves to have this large standard library.

But of course, this is a Python forum, so I'll stop advocating another
language.

Regards,
Isaac.